THE Doctor - UK-Muscle Body Building Community

Tatyana · 02-05-2006, 04:25 PM

Fantastic site lads

:love:
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http://www.thedoctorltd.co.uk/law.html

Tatyana · 02-05-2006, 04:26 PM

ANABOLIC STEROIDS AND THE LAW
By TheDoctor

In the United Kingdom, anabolic steroids are Prescription Only drugs under the Medicines Act (1968). They can only be sold by a pharmacist on the presentation of a Doctor's prescription.
Anabolic steroids are also Controlled Drugs, Class C (Schedule 4ii), under the Misuse of Drugs Act (1971). The Class determines how dangerous a drug is perceived to be, and penalties relating to the drug. The Schedule defines who may be in possession of or supply each drug.
POSSESSION
It is not an offence at this time to possess anabolic steroids for personal use*, unless they are counterfeit. Therefore police tend to arrest for steroid possession only if they can prove the drugs are counterfeit (and therefore not prescribed by a doctor). A small number of arrests and convictions are made on this basis each year.
*Note: The law does not specify a figure or quantity for personal use and so the practical consequences of this legislation have yet to be seen.
SUPPLY
It is however an offence to supply anabolic steroids. The penalty for unlawful supply of class C drugs is a maximum of 14 years in prison and unlimited fine.
IMPORTING
If a person obtains a drug from abroad then it falls under the importing regulations. The Medicines Control Agency has stated that up to 3 months supply* can be brought into the country as long as it is for individual use.
*Note: The law does not stipulate what amount of anabolic steroids constitutes "3 months supply" and thus this is open to interpretation by the authorities.
For medicines obtained abroad, the key issue is the legal status of the medicine in the country of purchase. If it is available OTC (Over The Counter) in that country then up to 3 months supply could be brought into the UK (as long as it is not also classified as a Controlled Drug within the UK) and the person could be in possession of, and use the product without breaking any regulations.
However although possession and use of a POM (Prescription Only Medication) for personal use does not constitute a criminal offence, supply of such products is an offence and could be easily done for. For example, somebody purchasing a medicine abroad (UK classified POM) and bringing it into the country for someone else would also be committing an offence.
These are the laws as understood at present but really have not been tested in court to see how they are implemented. Sentencing is highly variable and depends on a number of factors including quantities of drug involved, pleading guilty, previous offending history, and cooperation with the police.
CASE HISTORY
Information from HM Customs and Excise.
11 June 2002
Twelve months imprisonment for steroid smuggler
Mr Wardropper was today sentenced to twelve months imprisonment at Leeds Crown Court having pleaded guilty to attempting to smuggle a substantial quantity of anabolic steroids through Leeds / Bradford Airport.
Wardropper was intercepted by Customs officers at the airport on 29 August last year as he returned from a trip to Karachi. His luggage was found to contain 9000 ampoules of androgenic anabolic steroids.
Rob Hastings-Trew, Customs spokesman for Northern England, said “Seizures of this kind are extremely unusual. These drugs are used by a specific group of people – bodybuilders and athletes – and have an estimated street value of over £48,000.”
Notes for editors
1. Wardropper was charged under Section 3(1) of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.
2. The specific quantities were 4998 ampoules of Sustanon 250 and 3999 ampoules of Testosterone Enanthate 250, both brands of androgenic anabolic steroids.
Issued by HM Customs and Excise Communications Division, North East
For further information, please contact: Office e-mail: Press.office@hmce.gsi.gov.uk

Tatyana · 02-05-2006, 04:28 PM

JOURNAL: Addiction. September 2004; 99(9):1189-94.
ANABOLIC STEROID USERS' ATTITUDES TOWARDS PHYSICIANS
Pope HG, Kanayama G, Ionescu-Pioggia M, Hudson JI.
Biological Psychiatry Laboratory, McLean Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Belmont, MA 02478, USA. pope@mclean.harvard.edu
ABSTRACT
AIMS:
To assess anabolic-androgenic steroid (AAS) users' trust in the knowledge and advice of physicians.
DESIGN:
Interviews of AAS users and non-users.
SETTING:
Research offices.
PARTICIPANTS:
Eighty weight-lifters (43 AAS users, 37 non-users) recruited by advertisement in Massachusetts and Florida, USA.
MEASUREMENTS:
Personal interviews and questionnaire responses, including subjects' ratings of physicians' knowledge regarding various health- and drug-related topics. AAS users also rated their level of trust in various sources of information about AAS.
FINDINGS:
Both groups of subjects gave physicians high ratings on knowledge about general health, cigarette smoking, alcohol, and conventional illicit drugs, but gave physicians markedly and significantly lower ratings on knowledge about AAS. When rating sources of information on AAS, users scored physicians as no more reliable than their friends, Internet sites, or the person(s) who sold them the steroids. Forty percent of users trusted information on AAS from their drug dealers at least as much as information from any physician that they had seen, and 56% had never revealed their AAS use to any physician. CONCLUSION:
AAS users show little trust in physicians' knowledge about AAS, and often do not disclose their AAS use to physicians. These attitudes compromise physicians' ability to educate or treat AAS users. Physicians can respond to these problems by learning more about AAS and by maintaining a high index of suspicion when evaluating athletic male patients.

Tatyana · 02-05-2006, 04:30 PM

STEROID USERS

It is generally recommended and encouraged that any person undertaking activities that can be deleterious to their health, especially recreational drug use, should mention this to their GP. Unfortunately the majority of AAS users do not volunteer this information and this is documented in a recent study conducted by Harvard Medical School. Click here to read Anabolic steroid users' attitudes towards physicians.
Many users avoid sharing the complete details of their lifestyle with their GP and from feedback from previous clients this is due to a number of reasons.
During the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, the medical profession lost a lot of its credibility with anabolic steroid users by stating that there was no evidence as to their supposed efficacy. In fact it was as late as 1996 in a landmark study by Bhasin et al (1) using supraphysiological doses of testosterone that confirmed what users had known for over a half a century. This stance of the medical profession had several consequences.
Firstly, anabolic steroid users, on realising this view, would be deterred from attending the general practitioner for fear of a dismissive response to the requests or not having their concerns heard.
Secondly, the majority of doctors have little practical knowledge of Anabolic Steroids. The few indications where Anabolic Steroids were used in Medicine thirty or fourty years ago such as in treating osteoporosis in postmenopausal women or aplastic anaemia, have been superceded by better treatments. Apart from testosterone replacement therapy in hypogonadism, these medications are not prescribed in routine clinical practice and combined with the prevailing stance of the time has resulted in a generation of medics not being taught about these drugs in any depth as undergraduates and divorcing themselves from users in their clinical careers.
Finally and most importantly, clients have issues with confidentiality as anything related to drug abuse written down in their clinical notes may potentially cause them problems later on in life if their medical records are requested for life and health insurance purposes, new employment applications or even as note of contention in legal proceedings. Eventhough medical records with your doctor are confidential to some extent, when applying for the above, the application form will usually stipulate for you to give consent for the organisation to contact your doctor to have access to your medical records. Of course you have the right to refuse them access to your medical records but then your application may be refused, a no win situation.
This situation has become both inconvenient and also less than ideal for the individual.
At TheDoctor Ltd this is changing...
putting YOU in charge of YOUR health.
This service is provided as a harm minimisation strategy to those individuals who insist on using these drugs despite the potential risks involved.
Advantages of TheDoctor Ltd include: Complete privacy and confidentiality. There are no waiting lists and you can order which tests you want when you want. We have a fast turnover time with results being available the very next day after we receive your blood samples. You will also get a copy of your results for your own records and a fully personalised report explaining the findings. Patient education is a very important part of our philosophy. References:
1. Bhasin, S, et al. The effect of supraphysiological doses of testosterone on muscle size and strength in normal men. N Engl J Med (1996) Jul 4; 335(1):1-7.

Tatyana · 02-05-2006, 04:31 PM

BLOOD TESTING

BEFORE CYCLE
BASELINE TESTS
These only need to be done once and should be mandatory for all people using steroids for the first time or those who have been off for several months and are going to start cycling again. Baseline tests are routinely used in Medicine for monitoring the side effects of medications. Common drugs where baseline blood tests are carried out include medications for acne (Roaccutane), depression (Lithium) and arthritis (azathioprine) to name a few.
Baseline blood tests serve two functions.
Firstly they act as a screening tool to exclude any undiagnosed pre-existing conditions, which a cycle could potentially make worse such as high cholesterol levels or impaired liver function. Even when low dose testosterone is prescribed medically for hormone replacement therapy it is mandatory to carry out blood tests for Full Blood Count, Lipids, Liver Function and PSA (prostate disease).
Secondly they act as an invaluable 'personal' reference range to compare future blood test results with. An example is someone who has a testosterone level checked after finishing a cycle. The level comes back as say 12mmol/l. The general normal reference range for testosterone is between 10 to 40 mmol/l. Even though the patient is within the normal reference range, it may not be the normal value for him. A level of 12mmol/l may be appropriate for an elderly male but not acceptable for a healthy young guy. If a baseline level had been done which showed for example a value of 30mmol/l then it could be ascertained that full recovery had not yet occurred. Without having a baseline value it is difficult to determine how much more intervention is needed.
DURING CYCLE
The majority of people running standard cycles will not need blood tests during the cycle. Blood tests during a cycle are only needed if the person is running a particularly long cycle or they are at high risk due to pre-existing conditions as identified by baseline testing or due to positive family history of certain medical conditions.
POST CYCLE
HPTA
This will be of most interest to users as it is used to assess recovery. Currently PCT (Post Cycle Therapy), in an attempt to restore endogenous (natural) testosterone levels, is run blindly with no real scientific evidence to back the efficacy of one method over another. When one considers that different AS have varying effects on shutting down natural testosterone levels and people will run different AS drugs, at different cycle lengths and at different doses it becomes evident that a one PCT regime to fit all, is not suitable for everyone.
There are various 'protocols' around ranging from a single anti-oestrogen such as clomiphene to combination therapies including tamoxifen, HCG, bridging and aromatase inhibitors. Furthermore there are differing opinions on the doses to be used and even when these drugs should be commenced and for what duration. This makes it difficult for the individual to know which method to use and often ends up resorting to polypharmacy using a number of drugs, which apart from the cost, increases the risk of side effects. At TheDoctor Ltd we are taking PCT to the next level by evaluating your HPTA axis and assessing recovery. We will make YOU the 'steroid expert' with respect to yourself, by means of evidence based medicine as a result of hormone levels, giving you the knowledge about which AS cycles shut YOU down the hardest and which PCT works best for YOU. GENERAL HEALTH
A complete health screen to make sure physiological parameters (liver function, lipid levels, kidney function) have reversed to normal upon finishing the cycle.

BIG-UNC · 02-05-2006, 04:31 PM

do they do a blood test on you to check what your on at all? i mean if you've been caught bringing some through!

Tatyana · 03-05-2006, 12:31 AM

Not illegal to take steroids in this country.

I think it is fairly expensive and time consuming as it is HPLC with an extraction first, so just testing everyone is not practical.

Blood tests are for you to monitor your own health. I think it is sensible to get one before a course, especially if you have been clean for awhile, or before you EVER start.

I get on well with my GPs, they have to keep everything you tell them in confidence, and most will say BAD. However, they will make sure you are ok during your course if you are upfront with them.

See more than one doc in your surgery if possible.

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Old Man GABA · 03-05-2006, 06:11 AM

I use thedoctor for my blood test, used to get a 50% dicount on a testosterone test,
Perhaps someone from uk-m could set up an introductionary discount for members...

skizxi · 03-05-2006, 02:01 PM

that sounds a good idea me old man

TypeR · 03-05-2006, 02:52 PM

i am using the doc, once i am clean for 6 months, i am ganna get a full mot done..better than going to my gp ****!!!

Ben

02-05-2006, 04:25 PM	#1 (permalink)
Tatyana My name is EARL Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: On my bloody bike doing cardio Posts: 3,456	THE Doctor Fantastic site lads :love: x x x T http://www.thedoctorltd.co.uk/law.html

02-05-2006, 04:28 PM	#3 (permalink)
Tatyana My name is EARL Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: On my bloody bike doing cardio Posts: 3,456	ABSTRACT from THE doctor JOURNAL: Addiction. September 2004; 99(9):1189-94. ANABOLIC STEROID USERS' ATTITUDES TOWARDS PHYSICIANS Pope HG, Kanayama G, Ionescu-Pioggia M, Hudson JI. Biological Psychiatry Laboratory, McLean Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Belmont, MA 02478, USA. pope@mclean.harvard.edu ABSTRACT AIMS: To assess anabolic-androgenic steroid (AAS) users' trust in the knowledge and advice of physicians. DESIGN: Interviews of AAS users and non-users. SETTING: Research offices. PARTICIPANTS: Eighty weight-lifters (43 AAS users, 37 non-users) recruited by advertisement in Massachusetts and Florida, USA. MEASUREMENTS: Personal interviews and questionnaire responses, including subjects' ratings of physicians' knowledge regarding various health- and drug-related topics. AAS users also rated their level of trust in various sources of information about AAS. FINDINGS: Both groups of subjects gave physicians high ratings on knowledge about general health, cigarette smoking, alcohol, and conventional illicit drugs, but gave physicians markedly and significantly lower ratings on knowledge about AAS. When rating sources of information on AAS, users scored physicians as no more reliable than their friends, Internet sites, or the person(s) who sold them the steroids. Forty percent of users trusted information on AAS from their drug dealers at least as much as information from any physician that they had seen, and 56% had never revealed their AAS use to any physician. CONCLUSION: AAS users show little trust in physicians' knowledge about AAS, and often do not disclose their AAS use to physicians. These attitudes compromise physicians' ability to educate or treat AAS users. Physicians can respond to these problems by learning more about AAS and by maintaining a high index of suspicion when evaluating athletic male patients.

02-05-2006, 04:31 PM	#6 (permalink)
BIG-UNC IF YOU BUILD IT.....THEY WILL COME! Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: middlesbrough Posts: 1,945	do they do a blood test on you to check what your on at all? i mean if you've been caught bringing some through! __________________ UKM's Uncle Hackskii's buddy To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

03-05-2006, 12:31 AM	#7 (permalink)
Tatyana My name is EARL Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: On my bloody bike doing cardio Posts: 3,456	Not illegal to take steroids in this country. I think it is fairly expensive and time consuming as it is HPLC with an extraction first, so just testing everyone is not practical. Blood tests are for you to monitor your own health. I think it is sensible to get one before a course, especially if you have been clean for awhile, or before you EVER start. I get on well with my GPs, they have to keep everything you tell them in confidence, and most will say BAD. However, they will make sure you are ok during your course if you are upfront with them. See more than one doc in your surgery if possible. x x x T Last edited by Tatyana; 03-05-2006 at 12:34 AM.

03-05-2006, 06:11 AM	#8 (permalink)
Old Man GABA Thank god for Memories Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: West Sussex Posts: 332	I use thedoctor for my blood test, used to get a 50% dicount on a testosterone test, Perhaps someone from uk-m could set up an introductionary discount for members... __________________ To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

03-05-2006, 02:01 PM	#9 (permalink)
skizxi Looking Freaky Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: north wales Posts: 531	that sounds a good idea me old man

03-05-2006, 02:52 PM	#10 (permalink)
TypeR Hulk Join Date: May 2004 Location: Kent Posts: 1,418	i am using the doc, once i am clean for 6 months, i am ganna get a full mot done..better than going to my gp ****!!! Ben

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